At last, a 16-year drought is over.
For the first time since 1992, the UNM skiing team made its way to victory at the NCAA West Regional/Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association Championship last weekend in Truckee, Calif.
The desert-locked Lobos beat out seven schools including the top three finishers from last year's NCAA Tournament: Denver, Colorado and Utah.
The team finished with 565 points, outscoring its closest opponent, Colorado, by 26 points.
"The Alpine team is really consistent," Alpine coach Martin Kroisleitner said. "The Nordics had some things that didn't go their way this season, but (last) weekend they all put it together and finished as strong as they should have finished all year."
Two individual Nordic wins came from Polina Ermoshina on the women's side and Simon Reissman on the men's side to help seal the team victory.
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Three individual wins came from the Alpine skiers, too.
Estelle Pecherand-Charmet won the women's slalom event, while Petter Brenna sealed victories in the slalom and giant slalom for the men.
The team's next task comes in the form of the NCAA Championship in Bethel/Rumford, Maine, on March 11.
The typical team is made up of 12 athletes with three skiers from each class: men's and women's Nordic and men's and women's Alpine.
But only one woman from the Lobos qualified for Nordic, leaving the team shorthanded with 10. The only team to ever win gold with
fewer than 12 competitors was Colorado in 2006. The Buffaloes had 11.
So, the Lobos have a chance to make history in March.
Though Kroisleitner said it is a long shot, he is hoping for the best.
"The main goal is to get top four and get a big trophy. That would be pretty good," Kroisleitner said. "I think that is something we will be able to do, but I think if everything goes well and if we ski as well as we did last weekend, we can win."
Whoever wins the NCAA team title figures to be a team from the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Skiing Association, which UNM is a part of. Forty-eight out of 55 NCAA titles have been won by teams from RMISA.
Still, head coach Fredrik Landstedt said it will be tough for the Lobos.
"We need 10 top-notch times, good spirit and a little bit of luck," he said.
Brenna will likely lead the charge. He has become a standout with a team-high five wins, which he attributes to focus.
"In Alpine skiing, it is a lot of mental stuff," he said. "You just have to be confident and believe in yourself and kind of believe that you are better than the rest - not trying to do something special but knowing that you can."
Kroisleitner said Brenna's accomplishments speak volumes about his character.
"You can't be much better than that," he said. "There are fast guys out there, but they are not even as close to (being as) consistent as he is. Even on a bad day, Petter is still on the podium."
Brenna said he hopes to come out of the NCAA championship with two individual gold medals and hopefully a third medal for the team.
Skiing at NCAA Championships
March 11
Bethel/Rumford, Maine
All Day
